THE Women and Gender Equality Commission (WGEC), conducting ‘Access to Justice’ outreaches in the Administrative Regions has, so far, concluded that there is need for the provision of more services.

Particularly to allow access to women and children in the outlying regions, Commissioner Vanda Radzik told the media yesterday.
Alluding to a recent outreach in Region 9 (Upper Takutu/Upper Essequibo), she said accessing justice there is at a low ebb.             
Noting that there is no legal aid in that region and the health centres are few and far apart, she pointed out, further, that there is one hospital in North Rupununi which services some 16 communities and one police station that serves 12.
“So, if a woman or a child or any resident there wishes to access the justice, which is their right under the law, the services and the administration is absent and that is a generic problem,” Radzik said.
She said, in order to address this, alternatives need to be put in place until such time that a full gamut can be implemented.
Among some of the WGEC recommendations is that each worker in health huts should also be trained and equipped to work with a rape kit and, perhaps, fill out a form when a woman is battered or a child is abused.     

Paralegal training
Radzik acknowledged that there has been some paralegal training within villages and sub-regions, through the Justice Institute of Guyana.
But she emphasised, “In the absence of any lawyers, having local people with the capacity, trained as paralegals, you will be able to bridge the constitutional rights and the needs of people who are victims of injustice.”
She also maintained that trafficking in persons does exist in Region 9 and is a serious problem, insisting that everyone with the capability needs to make interventions where necessary.
Observing that Region 9 is the largest Administrative Region in Guyana, Radzik stated that there will be a follow-up meeting there before year-end.
Meanwhile, representing the Regional Women’s Affairs Committee (RWAC) on the WGEC), Ms. Bebbi Haliema Khan related that the Region 7 (Cuyuni/Mazaruni) Access to Justice Programme concluded last week, with disclosure of the necessity for representatives of the Child Care and Protection Agency, (CCPA), Labour and Legal Aid to be present there.
She said, while there is Probation and Social Services Officer in the region, there is no signboard to indicate the location of her office.
Khan said even persons from Region 10 (Upper Demerara/ Upper Berbice) would be served from Bartica and it is difficult when persons have to paddle out with boats or pay large sums of money for transportation and cannot get the benefits.

Very expensive
“It is difficult for a poor woman to leave Bartica or any of its neighbouring areas to come all the way to Georgetown or go all the way to Suddie to seek some form of legal advice. It’s very expensive and, often times, these women cannot afford it,” she lamented.
Khan said the commission is asking that those services be made available in Bartica and, when they are, it is announced and properly established, so that persons would be aware of the availability.
She also related that, in hinterland locations, people are often denied justice because the police cannot find persons for whom they have summonses.
Khan said Amerindians tend to move from place to place and the court sits in that area once every three months. She explained that, between one court date and the next, a lot of people transfer to another address and this is posing a serious challenge for justice to be served.
As such, the WGEC is appealing for the court to sit monthly, instead, in Region 7.
Chair of the WGEC, Ms. Indranie Chandarpal, who represents the Women’s Progressive Organisation (WPO), said the Commission is in the final stages of preparing its third annual report to be laid in the National Assembly.
She said that compilation will include the information gathered from all ten Access to Justice outreach programmes, as well as the other issues that the Commission has been promoting and advocating.
Chandarpal said two other outreaches are to be undertaken, in Regions 1  (Barima / Waini) and 8 (Potaro/Siparuni), which will culminate this exercise.
She indicated that while the compendium is to be laid in Parliament sometime next month, the commission is examining ways in which what is being recommended can be used to develop more action based initiatives.
In addition, Chandarpal revealed that the WGEC has just completed its five-year strategic plan of action and will, very soon, be looking to develop another.